Incumbent, newcomer vie for state agricultural post

The race for commissioner of agriculture and consumer services pits a Democratic political newcomer against a well-funded Republican incumbent with close ties to the farming industry.

The winner between Eric Copeland and Commissioner Charles Bronson will oversee a department with a veritable cornucopia of duties. Among other jobs, it promotes Florida farm products, regulates food safety, operates the state's consumer hotline, checks gas pumps, inspects carnival rides and manages close to a million acres of public lands.

Cabinet post

The commissioner also serves on the three-member Florida Cabinet, which shares power with the governor in running several agencies and overseeing matters such as clemency and land purchases.

During the campaign, Copeland, of Coral Gables, has played up the consumer-services side of the job, which he says Bronson has neglected.

"I'm finding people don't even know we have a commissioner of consumer services," said Copeland, 41, a lawyer who specializes in property-tax appeals. "I don't know why he chooses to run such a low-profile job."

Copeland proposes making the department a "clearinghouse" for consumers and opening regional consumer-services offices around the state where the public could seek information on problems ranging from identity theft to property insurance.

In the legislative sessions, the department could evaluate bills for their potential effect on consumers, Copeland said.

That should have happened before lawmakers approved a homeowners' property-insurance bill this year that was "written by the insurance companies and for the insurance companies," Copeland said.

Bronson, 57, defended his track record on consumer issues, saying Copeland doesn't understand that "consumer services" is only one of the department's 13 divisions.

In a recent interview with the Orlando Sentinel's editorial board, Bronson said Copeland is "trying to put too many things in one pot that he's not even responsible for and has no control over."

"We're out there being very proactive. We put people in prison for taking advantage of elderly women in dance studios. . . . Our labs check for bacteria and things that can hurt the public," Bronson said. "We have put millions of dollars back in the consumers' hands."

Copeland has also attacked Bronson's now-abandoned citrus-canker eradication program, calling it a waste of nearly a billion dollars. He said Bronson was wrong to make property owners cut down healthy trees within 1,900 feet of infected trees.

"He was sending state agents to search and destroy on private property to protect us from a bacterium that doesn't kill humans, doesn't kill trees and doesn't affect citrus-juice yields," Copeland said.

Canker counterpoint

Again, Bronson said Copeland didn't know what he was talking about.

"We've lost roughly 28 percent of the industry, and we're going to lose some more if we don't find a good way to protect these trees," Bronson said.

Bronson maintained the tree-cutting policy provided the best protection for growers. Still, he dropped the 10-year program after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said hurricanes had spread the disease too far to be contained and pulled its financial support.

Bronson, who hails from a prominent Kissimmee ranching family, is the choice of the agricultural industry.

Bronson said he will consider his next term a success if agriculture's economic impact on Florida increases from $87 billion to $100 billion and if farmers are able to stay in business by using their land to produce alternative fuels.

Copeland said he, too, is committed to helping farmers, proposing a roughly 2 percent tax break for farmers who make building improvements.

With Gov. Jeb Bush as his honorary campaign chairman, Bronson has pulled in nearly $1.6 million, according to campaign-finance records filed with the state.

Bronson has garnered endorsements from the Florida Chamber of Commerce, National Rifle Association, Florida Fraternal Order of Police and the largest state employees union.

Copeland has raised nearly $68,000 and loaned himself $167,000. He is endorsed by the Florida Consumer Action Network and Florida Democracy for America.